


Left A Stain On My Metal Heart

by dbhyourcool



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Android deaths, Angst with a Happy Ending, Awkward!RK900, Canon-Typical Violence, Crime Fighting, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Explicit Language, Fluff, Gavin Reed Redemption, Gore, M/M, Soft!Gavin, Upgraded Connor | RK900 and Gavin Reed are Police Partners, first fic, reed900
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-18 12:34:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29243667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dbhyourcool/pseuds/dbhyourcool
Summary: “-Gavin Reed, pleasure to meet you” Anyone in a mile radius could hear the proud smirk in the detective’s voice. More sarcasm dripping from his words than the coffee now collecting in a puddle beneath the android's feet.An emotionless expression hasn’t shifted from his face. He isn’t shaking in rage, he isn’t showing a slither of anger, there are no emotions in his dead soulless eyes. He slowly lifts his hand, his eyes still boring into Gavin’s skull, wiping off any excess coffee that had stuck to his pristine white Cyberlife jacket. This would most definitely leave a stain.
Relationships: Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed
Comments: 2
Kudos: 34





	1. Don't Cry Over Spilt Coffee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin Reed is forced to include a new shiny state-of-the-art android in his investigations. Of course they don't get off to a great start, but everyone in the precinct hopes that things don't end up bloody. Will the two new partners be able to get along even after a couple heated altercations?

The sizzling sound of steaming liquid on metal echoed throughout the break room. Blue eyes glared up at cold grey eyes, the soaking figure towering over the smaller man.

“-Gavin Reed,  _ pleasure  _ to meet you” Anyone in a mile radius could hear the proud smirk in the detective’s voice. More sarcasm dripping from his words than the coffee now collecting in a puddle beneath the android’s feet. 

An emotionless expression hasn’t shifted from his face. He isn’t shaking in rage, he isn’t showing a slither of anger, there are no emotions in his dead soulless eyes. He slowly lifts his hand, his eyes still boring into Gavin’s skull, wiping off any excess coffee that had stuck to his pristine white Cyberlife jacket. This would most definitely leave a stain.

And Gavin seemed to notice this as he instead began to twitch, looking as if in a few seconds he would pounce and attack the unshaken machine. Tina Chen, an astounding officer, rushes over from her place at the coffee machine and grabs Gavin’s arm. She aggressively whispers hushed words at Gavin before turning around and gives the droid a forced smile, the corners of her lips and eyes straining in an unnatural way. Even the socially inept android could tell.

“Sorry about him RK900, Gavin is just a bit... moody in the mornings” Tina awkwardly laughs before turning around and dragging Gavin out of the breakroom. It was impressive that such a small frail woman could drag the bulky Gavin away with no sign of struggle. RK900 just continued staring at the now empty space which once occupied the enraged detective.

His LED sporadically spun yellow with blinks of red as he mulled over the interaction that just took place. He reconstructed the conversation and could tell that something wasn’t right. What had he said wrong, to cause such extreme reactions? The detective’s heart rate had skyrocketed, and blotchy red patches climbed up from his neck and consumed his expressive face. From RK’s programmed protocol he could tell that wasn’t the normal reaction he was supposed to receive.

All the RK had said was “Greetings Detective Gavin Reed, I am RK900. Due to a request from Captain Fowler, you have been chosen as my partner temporarily. I hope to get working as soon as we can.”

That was what he had been programmed to say. If anything, the machine had gone for a more, polite greeting with detective Reed. His protocol had repeatedly urged him to point out the man’s late arrival, his scruff unkempt look, his clumsiness around the office which completely disregarded health and safety, or really anything else on the long list the droid had gathered from the 10 minutes of analysing him.

But even RK900 could tell that his new partner was quite troubled and making statements about his brashness would make detective Reed want to work with him less. So against all of his protocols and programming he had decided to keep his mouth shut. Yet the conversation still led to the results he had been trying to avoid. 

__________________________________________

“C’mon Gavin! You don’t get a choice in this matter, just accept that you have a partner and yes, he is an android.” Tina glared at Gavin with as much ferocity as she could muster. Yet her eyes were still kind, even when scolding him. Her hands were placed on her hips as she tried to intimidate Gavin. It did quite the opposite. 

He groaned dramatically as dropped himself into his desk chair, everyone was trying to look like they were fast at work but it didn’t take a detective to tell they were eavesdropping on the whole interaction. He swung around to Tina who hadn’t moved an inch. He leaned forward, a sneer catching at his lips. 

“Listen, Tina, the tin can looks way too much look the plastic asshole and its freaky. And is he even deviant? He looks like he has a 10-foot pole stuck up his ass.” 

“Gavin!” Tina gasped, he could see her trying to hide her amusement. “Am I wrong though?” She rolled her eyes at that.

“Fine, fine. I’ll work with him _ but _ I will not make it easy, you and everyone else will just have to accept that.” Gavin held up his hands in mock surrender, a grin now replacing an ugly sneer he previously wore. 

  
  


“Oh-” A wide-eyed android, RK800, stopped in his tracks at the door of the break room. “Hello, I’m Conor”. He gave a charming smile. 

RK900 stared back at the lesser model. How long had he been standing here since detective Reed left? He turned around and marched past ‘Conor’. He didn’t have the time to be making chit-chat with an android who failed its own mission. RK900 won’t let that happen to himself.

Detective Reed was lounging in his office chair with his feet sloppily thrown on the table, he was staring at his screen but RK900 could tell he wasn’t progressing with any work. The stiff android came to a stop in front of Reed’s desk, waiting for him to notice the impatient machine.

“Detective.” He pointedly glared at the man in front of him who was now obviously trying everything in his power to ignore him. “Detective Reed, we’ve been assigned a homicide case. We need to go to the crime scene to begin our investigation”. 

For some reason, this elevated Reed’s heart rate and he began to shake once again. What had RK900 said wrong this time? He didn’t want to admit it but he was struggling to communicate with his partner. He hadn’t been programmed with many social functions unlike the RK800 ‘Conor’. 

“I’m not stupid, tin can. I know how cases work, now fuck off and leave me alone. Thanks to you I haven’t had my morning coffee yet.” Reed scoffed, brows furrowed, ignoring eye contact from the strict RK900 in front of him. 

That comment made him tilt his head ever so slightly that if you weren’t paying attention, you wouldn’t notice. “Detective Reed, you were the one to pour your coffee on me, that’s a decision you made yourself. I don’t understand how that involves me” 

Reed jumped up quickly, his chair falling behind him in a loud bang. All heads in the office turned to see what all the racket was. He roughly grabbed the front of RK900’s Cyberlife jacket, glowering up at the unfazed android. Because that’s all he was, a machine programmed to mimic life. 

“We don’t have any time to waste, Detective. Your hot-headed tendencies won’t solve the case. Aren’t you supposed to be one of the best detectives in the precinct? You don’t seem it.”

Everyone flinched as they expected him to lash out, either scream or hit RK900. But he quickly let go of the shirt that was just tangled in his fist, turning around with a huff and stalking off towards the exit of the precinct. When he realised the android wasn’t following him he let out a loud groan.

“C’mon what are you waiting for, tin can. I’ll leave you behind, we have a crime scene to get to.”

Everyone was shocked when Reed complied with his fancy new android partner, RK900. But what they failed to notice was how the androids synthetic lip quirked up by a minuscule and how his LED had blinked blue for the first time since entering the station.


	2. Disembodied Body

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin Reed and RK900 must put their (one-sided) differences aside to complete their first investigation together. It is not as easy as it sounds, as Gavin's bitterness and abrupt hate coupled with RK900's stubborn demeanor to complete his mission makes things much more difficult. Will they be able to communicate effectively for the sake of their investigation?

RK900 could tell that Detective Reed would not be making it easier for him to complete his mission. It only took him being in the precinct 19.73 minutes for him to come to that final conclusion. If he was a human, he would have sighed from exhaustion as a reaction to the situation. But alas, RK900 was a machine created to complete a mission, that’s all he was, and ever will be. Unable to express emotions in the same way as humans, didn’t bother him at all. I mean how can you miss something you’ve never experienced? They were unnecessary anyway, they hindered his possibility of completing his mission as quickly and as mess-free as possible.

The car ride had felt slow, time for androids felt much slower than for humans. An uncomfortable tense silence hung in the air. But the oblivious droid hadn’t noticed. All he saw was how Reed’s fists tightened so hard onto the steering wheel that they had been drained of any colour, the soft beige now stark white. This puzzled him deeply. Even the man’s heart rate had skyrocketed once again. This was definitely going to be difficult. RK900 didn’t have the capability to figure out what emotions humans are feeling. His predecessor had been created to be charming, but when he failed they removed that unless code from RK900. He did appreciate how Reed hadn’t tried to make conversation. Every time they have done that so far, it has worsened their relationship. He added to his notes ‘Conversing with Detective Gavin Reed leads to unwanted reactions, interact only when necessary. Maybe working with the problematic man wouldn’t be too bad.

When they finally pulled up to the street of the scene, RK900 strode out and altered his gaze from Reed to analyze the falling-apart apartment building, surely this is a health and safety risk and doesn’t meet regulations? Reed was already ahead, ducking under the sloppy police tape that sagged in the middle, it didn’t quite enforce the message of dominance. 

Officers stood about around the front of the building, all the same look on their faces, after many database searches and scans of their facial features he recognises it as boredom. It seems these officers of the law didn’t care enough about a homicide, did they not have any empathy? 

“Disgraceful” RK900 muttered to himself, noticing how Reed had gathered a lead far ahead. What was the machine doing standing around doing nothing? Reed had just finished conversing with an officer that was patrolling the crime scene, that RK900 guessed Reed knew. Well, he couldn’t care less about the details of their past relations. He followed after the hurried detective, they couldn’t waste even a second. 

RK900’s thirium pump stuttered as an error display message popped up in his HUD, ‘Warning: do not slow down the investigation!’. The android stopped in his place, this has never happened before. He performed some scans on his systems, all came back running smoothly with no blips, yet what just happened with his thirium pump? He placed his heavy hand on his chest, feeling the beating of his vital pump. Everything seemed fine.

“Ay tin can you comin’ or what? Aren’t you supposed to be all fancy and high tech, why you fucking waiting outside? Do I need to beckon you over like a dog?” The sneer in his voice was clear, finally something about his puzzling partner that was clear.

“Detective Reed, I am an android, not a dog. There is no need to call me like one.”

His irritated scoff echoed throughout the entry hallway as he ventured deeper into the building. RK caught up to him quickly, not making a sound as he slid up beside him. As Reed said, ‘ _ scaring me shitless’ _ .

The walk up to the crime scene on the fifth floor felt long and awkward to the human but the android wasn’t able to read the room. The hallways and staircases seemed as if at any moment they would just completely collapse. The only sounds to be heard were the angry huffs every few minutes when Reed demanded attention and the squelch of cheap runners on cracking marble.

When they finally reached their destination, it was obvious which room belonged to a now-deceased victim. Two tired-looking officers stood guard in front of a particularly odd-looking door. It was completely caved in the middle, he was surprised the handle was still holding on. What could have taken place to warrant this unusual sight?

A snort was heard ahead of him, “Oh seriously fellas, what’s the deal with being bodyguards for a door that’s barely still hanging onto the hinges?” He was now obnoxiously laughing in their faces, not caring for social etiquette. RK900 was sure humans found that very important? But his partner just disregarded the rules. Expected of him.

“Detective Reed, don’t get distracted, we have a crime scene waiting for us.” Reed quickly spun around to face the expressionless robot, he was now his target. He was glaring as hard as he could, hoping to intimidate RK. Instead, it instilled a message of hatred into him. “Oh fucking rich coming from you, you plastic asshole!”

Storming off into the apartment, slamming the door open as hard as he could. The door finally being thrown off its hinges and clattering down with a loud ‘bang!’. Leaving his new partner to ponder in the hallway. 

As RK stepped over the collapsed door, his eyes shifted down and he noticed something. The number plate was missing, the metal had left an outline. He could just make out the difference of colour from the fresh wood to the chipped paint, number 22? That was such an  _ unusual  _ occurrence.

Entering the old moldy home he’d expected his sensors to overload with the smell of rotting corpses. Instead, he was tasked with the sight of blue blood splattered all along the walls. It certainly was gruesome, even to the military android.

“Hey what’s wrong tin can? Whatcha lookin’ at?” Reed came to stand beside him, shifting from foot to foot, trying to peer over and see what the android was so fascinated with. So, the blue blood had already evaporated. Wasn’t this supposed to be a fresh killing? Detective Gavin Reed was also acting as if just minutes ago he hadn’t flipped out on his partner. 

“Detective, when did the body get reported?” RK900 turned to look at the confused detective. “Didn’t you look at the case file? Too much work for the fucking superior species huh?” Why did everything that Reed says have to confuse his social situations? RK900 could tell something was wrong by the way Reed talked to him, but he couldn’t figure what he said that set his partner off this time.

“This is important Detective, when was the body reported?” He rolled his eyes and answered, “At 8:16 am, the landlord came by to collect overdue rent and the found good ole’ victim here” This was vital information. It had only been four hours since the body was reported. 

RK900 left his partner in the foyer, forensics and officers strolled through the home, all doing their respective jobs. As soon as he entered the kitchen the crime that had just taken place was obvious. A decapitated android with its limbs strewn about, laid on the cold, black and white marble floor. But what really caught his eye was the glistening blue blood splattered on every inch of the kitchen. 

His LED light glowed and spun bright yellow. The most advanced android scanned the lesser model posed on the floor in a disturbing way. 

**{Priya Andrea}**

**[Model Number: AT600]**

**[Activated seven months ago]**

**[Worked at ‘Jimbys Bar’]**

He brought his slender fingers down to the fresh blood, delicately placing the sample on his silicone tongue. Information flooding his HUD. 

**[DECEASED: FIVE HOURS AGO]**

Five hours ago? That wasn’t that long ago. There had only been a period of an hour between when she permanently shutdown and when her body had been reported. This changes everything.

Crouched down with his fingers still in his mouth, the detective entered the room and physically revolted in disgust at the sight. Exclaiming a loud ‘What the fuck!’. So RK900 guesses the blood in the kitchen is still visible to humans.

Reed had been surprised to see the android examining the blood sample, yet it was a normal procedure for RK900’s and 800’s. The information gathered was needed to continue his mission, so he didn’t have an opinion on his partner’s reaction. He had to stay focused on himself.

“Oh god, I don’t even wanna know what you’re doing, robo freak. You’re probably into that. Disgusting thought…. I’m gonna change the subject, have you found any important evidence yet?” Reed had stumbled over his words, RK900 paid him no mind. He tried to come up with a solution, was it necessary to his mission to divulge the information gathered with his partner who had been purposefully difficult?

Reed stood looming over him, repeatedly tapping his foot. Body language the android could finally decipher. An obvious sign of anxiousness. After having an argument in his head about what to tell the man standing near him, the logical answer didn’t matter to him.

“The victim permanently shut down five hours ago-” Reed perked up at that, “Which means she only died an hour before she was found!” He finished the android's preconstructed words before him. “Yes, Detective Reed. That is right, but I would favor you on a larger level if you did not interrupt me when I am giving you information.”

RK900 had expected his new partner to explode and scream at him some nonsense, but nothing came about, just silence. RK stayed crouched as he looked up at Reed who refused to make eye contact. What is wrong with him now? The droid’s LED spun yellow rapidly as it gained speed, he examined the interaction in his computer. Not realising how long he had been staring at Reed.

A loud scoff echoed throughout the open space kitchen, “Stop staring at me robo freak, I can tell you are doing your weird analyzing shit on me. Let's get back to the dead body right in front of us.” It wasn’t an apology but after a few minutes of searching through his ever-growing database on Reed, he could tell it was as close as he was going to get.

He nodded at the obviously anxious detective, standing up and leaving the bloodied body on the ground. He did a quick scan of the room one last time before coming up empty. “I’ll check around the rest of the apartment.” He replied.

“Ok, whatever, just do it. You don't need to get my permission or some shit.” A mumble was heard behind him. He didn’t reply, just left the kitchen in silence. 

What was RK900 looking for? Hopefully a weapon or evidence that someone had been previously here. He was still wondering what the old dried blood was from, but he had other problems to deal with at the moment. He pushed a slightly ajar door open, peering inside. It seemed to be the main bedroom. This most likely had been Priya’s room before she became deceased. He scanned the room for any evidence, realising he might have to manually search. He did however notice there was not any dried blood, which was a good sign. He reached out to the bed, shuffling the pillows and duvet to see if there was anything hiding from him. As he was about to step back from the bed, a small unnoticeable slither of hair stood out on the white blankets. A dark black hair. That was unnatural, androids hair only falls out when it is forcibly torn out. That isn’t a good sign.

He picked up the hair with a delicate touch as not to compromise the newfound evidence. His LED spun red for a millisecond as he realised that this hair  _ was not  _ Priya’s. A woman named Mia Marie Lundenberg, searching through the database of people associated with Priya. 

**[NO SEARCH RESULTS FOUND]**

That definitely was not good. As he looked around his eyes came about a wardrobe, maybe something was hiding there? It was the stereotypical place to hide illegal items, an android would use normal methods to seem more human. His feet lightly stepped over the carpet, not emitting any sound as he snook closer to the closet. His thermal radar had not detected any heat signatures so he wasn’t too worried unless there was a fellow machine hiding. With a cautious demeanor, he grabbed the door handle, slowly sliding the door open. As he looked around the exterior he came up short on any items. Nothing, not even clothes laid untouched in the closet. Which wasn’t unexpected as there was an android habituating this home. He should have considered this possibility. 

“Ay tin can, you finished in there? I’m done searching the rest of the apartment, nothing else to see” He turned around and spotted Detective Reed leaning against the doorframe, now not being scared to make eye contact. This was a change of heart but he should be considering anything a possibility with his new difficult detective. 

“Yes I have completed my analysis, I found evidence, a hair not belonging to the android. I have decided to go interview the neighbour. She might have some information we don’t know yet.” RK explained. 

“Hmph, sounds alright. Follow me, she’s just outside.” Was this an act of kindness? RK900 could not tell anymore. His social functions flooded with possibilities. Gavin reed winked as he spun around and gestured to follow him. Disappearing into the hallway. 

RK900 stuttering in his step, error messages popping all around his HUD, he dismissed them all as he ignored the important message they were trying to portray to him. These were just small distractions, he must stay on the mission  _ no matter what.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this took a while to be published but I went through some writer's block halfway through writing this chapter. I have some cool ideas I can't wait to share so keep an eye out for the next update soon! I'm new to the ao3 Reed900 community and would love to make some new friends! Please follow me on Tumblr: dbhyourcool. Or discord: dbhyoucool#2130. I'd love to make some new friends who love Reed900 or DBH! Also if you are an author as well I'd love to have a chat about writing or about our books or someone who might like to beta read for me? I have ADHD so I have trouble properly proofreading my stories as I get distracted or can't focus long enough :) anyway, thanks so so so much for 200 hits! Love ye <3


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